Caring for one’s health is an imperative. Purposely harming one’s health is ill-advised. Eating too much and eating too little have different causes, but they are cousins, related in a somewhat close way. T-t-t-too much! Too much food or too much restraint. Same thing—too much. Too obsessive. Too wasteful.

Moderation has been touted throughout the ages. Weight obsession has become more important than moderation because it generates revenue, buzz, and conversations. Moderation is thought to be dull. Overdoing or underdone-ing is interesting, gossip-worthy, distracting.

Moderation is actually fascinating! No easy feat is moderation. It requires attention and control and vigilance. And sometimes, rethinking and reworking. Moderation is the pinnacle of conscientious living. Moderation contributes to self-control, which in turn brings balance. The more one lives in moderation, the more one can accomplish.

Regarding eating, moderate eating provides the appropriate amount of fuel to run the body. Not too much, not too little. Moderate eating leads to enjoyment of food and to better digestion. Food that is not ejected or is not over-consumed is food well used. Food that is eaten for sustenance is food well used. Food that is eaten, not only in the correct amounts, but also in nourishing environments, nourishes the body and the soul. Soulful eating. Soul-fulfilling nourishment. Nourishing the soul includes the body’s nourishment. Enjoying the food, appreciating the food, understanding that food is for energy, all connect to elevate the process of caring for the body.

Obsessubstantiality is an affliction of people who have lost the importance of being themselves. Perhaps they care too much about other people’s opinions of physical attractiveness or perhaps they care too little. Perhaps they feel “in control” of something in their life—mistaken assumption—because obsessubstantiality is a loss of control, a turning over of control, a control coup. Other causes can be caregiver passing-on of obsessubstantiality, improper understanding of beauty, surrender of self-caring, or incorrect focus on food as a substitute for attention or love.

Too much or too little. Both are misguided. Is one worse than the other? Yes. Too little eaten on purpose (not in a famine situation) is more destructive than overeating, unless the overeating is done for the purpose of intentional destruction.”

Obsessubstaniality and other important aspects of modern life are discussed in Oneself -Living. It is available for purchase through amazon.com: